Jim Webb

Though the Democratic nomination has yet to be decided, Barack Obama and John McCain have begun acting very much as if the general election has already started, exchanging direct criticisms and sizing each other up. And, while neither has talked publicly about it at this early stage, both men are doubtless pondering the running-mate question.

In a matchup with Obama, McCain would face two potentially conflicting imperatives with his choice of a vice presidential candidate.  read more »

RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 10—If the receptions Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton respectively received at a gathering of influential Democrats last night in Richmond is any indication, Clinton is in for another tough result when Virginia holds its primary on Tuesday.

The stark difference in enthusiasm was noticeable even in passing. Outside the Stuart C. Siegel Center, which played host to the Jefferson-Jackson dinner, a couple hundred of Obama supporters beating drums, wearing paper Obama masks and holding giant white letters spelling Obama’s name urged passing cars to honk. Many of them did.

A quieter group of Hillary supporters had less success.  read more »

Some Democrats have talked up the Virginian as the future of the national party, a role for which the party might be seen as grooming him.  read more »

Now that the campaign of John McCain has evaporated, it’s almost certain that next year’s Republican nominee will not make a full-strength, years-long military push aimed at “victory” in Iraq the centerpiece of the G.O.P.’s fall ’08 message.  read more »

The day after the election -- as the AP was declaring victory for the Democrats in Virginia and, therefore, the Senate -- the less-talked-about candidate in that squeaker of a race was on her way to Oklahoma, to check on one of her daughters who had been having health problems.

Glenda Gail Parker, a grandmother who received 26,102 votes on a pro-rails independent/conservative green ticket, said that not a single voter has asked her about "vote-splitting" in a race where a mere 7217 votes put the Democratic candidate, Jim Webb, above the Republican, George Allen. Some reporters certainly had asked, she said.

"We're very pleased that we had a very strong impact on this election," Ms. Parker said last night. "We feel that more participation is what our process needs, rather than less."

During the election, Ms. Parker said she went to both candidates and offered them criteria for endorsement. Neither major party candidate met those criteria, so Ms. Parker settled on making a public statement: "That if folks could not vote for us because we were too conservative," she said, "then for goodness sakes vote for a positive change. But we did say vote for change!"

A bit over 2.36 million votes have been recorded in the Virgina Senate election. Virginia has about 5.7 million residents over the age of 18.

Ms. Parker said she has begun organizing for future elections already. "We're recruiting candidates," she said. "We need 100 across the state, and 40 for State Senate, and candidates for local offices to advocate for rail and for a balanced budget."

-- Choire Sicha

George Allen is basically standing by while the initial step in a recount process takes place and all the precincts are canvassed.

"This is an automatic process that's happening," said a staffer with the Allen campaign. "You can't be proactive about this."

The process has to be finished by Tuesday.

In the meantime, Jim Webb, who leads by about 7,000 votes, is planning his transition.

And one of the leading experts of Virginia politics thinks it is over.

'There is nowhere to make up those votes," said Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia. "I have had people in both parties tell me that there is zero chance."

"George Allen's people are trying to figure out if they can come up with a way to throw out 7000 votes. And they have to only throw out Webb votes. Someone has to have a long talk with Allen and say 'look, it's not going to happen, it's over. You will have a long rich private life. You are not going to be President or Senator and it's over.' He will have to get used to being called ex-senator."

--Jason Horowitz

Word is that the Virgiia Senate race will end up in a recount, potentially leaving control of the Senate unsettled well into this week. George Allen continues to lead Jim Webb by about 12,000 votes with roughly four percent of precincts yet to report.

About 7 percent of Virginia's precincts remain outstanding, with George Allen holding onto a lead of about 17,000 votes over Jim Webb, his Democratic challenger. So where are the uncounted ballots from? The answer is mainly from Prince William and Loudoun Counties in northern Virginia and the city of Richmond. Webb figures to gain some ground when these votes are added up. But a look at the partial returns from Prince William and Loudoun suggests he won't gain many in those counties-- he's only running very slightly ahead of Allen in them now. Richmond is a Webb stronghold, but the 13 uncounted precincts there will not erase much of overall deficit. -- Steve Kornacki

Democrat Jim Webb is running out of chances in Virginia. He now lags 20,000 votes behind Republican George Allen with 93 percent of ballots tallied -- an improvement for Allen, whose lead had shrunk inside of 10,000 votes not too long ago. -- Steve Kornacki

With 85% of precincts reporting in Virginia, Republican incumbent George Allen and Democrat Jim Webb are in a dead heat (Allen at 49.54%, Webb at 49.26%).

Spoiling this whole race is the independent candidate who is pulling in 1.11%.

-- Azi Paybarah

Ben Cardin has fended off Republican Michael Steele in Maryland, all but ensuring that Democrats will not lose a single Senate seat in 2006. Republicans had also made noise about knocking off Democratic incumbents in New Jersey and Michigan, but their candidates in those states have come up far short. One other Senate Democrat, Maria Cantwell of Washington, was originally seen as a potential target, but Republican Mike McGavick's campaign has flagged badly down the stretch.

Meanwhile, with 85% of precincts reporting in Virginia, Republican incumbent George Allen and Democrat Jim Webb are in a dead heat.

-- Steve Kornacki

85 percent of the ballots have been tallied, and about 8,000 votes separate Democrat Jim Webb from George Allen in Virginia's Senate race. Is it too soon to ask whether Green Party candidate G.G. Parker -- who has received over 20,000 votes so far -- will thwart Democratic efforts to win this state?

With a loss in Tennessee appearing likely, Democrats now must win Virginia to have a chance of claiming the Senate. With more than three-quarters of the votes in, though, the race is dead even, with Democrat Jim Webb mounting something of a charge against George Allen in the most recent precincts to report. Word is that the outstanding precincts are in the Northern Virginia suburbs -- a swing area that sided with Democrats in last year's governor's race.

Follow the drama live here-- the most up-to-the-minute returns from the George Allen/Jim Webb Senate race in the Old Dominion, refreshed every two minutes.

No one is sure where in the state these returns are coming from, though Hotline reported earlier that the returns in Alexandria, a masssively Democratic city across the Potomac from Washington, were essentially identical to the last year's gubernatorial race-- which was won by Democrat Tim Kaine by seven points.

-- Steve Kornacki